Tree of Life and Trunk of Light

This piece was inspired (though it doesn't resemble at all) Unica Zurn. My drawing professor named her cat Unica, which I found to be a rather fascinating name, so I looked up her artwork. It is a beautiful surreal conglomeration of line-drawings and doodle-style chimera, figures, and swirls, with the occasional eye hidden Waldo-style. Her pieces are beautiful as well as a functional window into her mind (which she seemingly lost at one point). To me, these pieces seem like the Bell Jar of art. Well- if not the Bell Jar, then at least one of them.

I began with the tree of life, winding, intertwining like the lives of the living. From there, I thought that it would be nice to have it composed of human limbs as, well, tree limbs, so the leaves are actually hands, the trunk has the occasional elbow, and resting upon God's head are, appropriately, feet. From there my choices become more random. More than drawing with an aim, I drew for pleasure. It felt like stream-of-consciousness drawing, soothing to not censor myself or judge, just draw. I was going to have the telephone poles (I currently have a fascination with telephone poles) coming out of floating Boulders (Magritte style) but when I drew the boulders, they looked like strawberries, so I made them strawberries and called it a day.

This next piece is another that evolved organically as I worked on it, though unlike the previous piece, I did not go into it with the intention of free-draw. I knew I wanted an elephant the didn't look entirely realistic (I am also going through a bit of an elephant phase) and clouds. I have a developing things of happy things like flowers and butterflies coming out of unexpected places like blowholes of whales and trunks of elephants. 
In this case, the flowers act as the sun, the elephant as a light fixture in the sky, and the clouds as the reluctant anchor. This is a new style for me. I'm not sure if it fits, but I am trying it on for size, and quite enjoying the process!

This is a hankie that I embroidered about (if one can really embroider about something) my Professor Robert Hullot Kentor. He is a fascinating specimen of a man, and he inspires me, so I thought a hankie homage was due, for what better way so say "I care" than embroider? That's what I always say. 

The quotes around his head are things that he has said. He is riding a tortoise because he once used riding a tortoise to illustrate a point in class, explaining the objective of our final essay in that we are all riding our respective tortoises and the essay was him asking us to turn around and pause and acknowledge what we have learned throughout the year, and then continue on our way. 

The man in the heart is Kentor's beloved Adorno, author of Minima Moralia and other such philosophical writings concerning largely music and art. 

These watercolor paintings are re-illustrations of sorts for the wonderful book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It was rather enjoyable to assert my own approach to a book that means a lot to me intrinsically, as I read it as a child and loved it, and now respect it even more as an adult. The original illustrations are beautiful and do not need re-working. This endeavor was an assignment- a rather enjoyable one at that.

Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.

And every day the boy would come to play

Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade

Laughing all the summer's hours away

And so they love.

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

But soon the boy grew older and one day he came and said,

"Can you give me some money, tree, to buy something I've found?"

"I have no money," said the tree, "Just apples, twigs and leaves.

But you can take my apples, boy, and sell them in the town."

And so he did.

Oh, the tree was happy, oh the tree was glad.

But soon again the boy came back and said to the tree

"I am now a man and I must have a house that is all my own."

"I can't give you a house," he said. "The forest is my house.

But you can cut my branches off and build yourself a home."

And so he did.

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

And time went by and the boy came back with sadness in his eyes.

"My life has turned so cold," he said. "I need sunny days."

"I have nothing but a trunk, but you can cut it down and build a boat and said away."

And so he did.

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

After years the boy came back, and both of them were old. 

"I really can not help you if you ask for another gift. 

I am nothing but an old stump now. I have nothing more to give."

"I do not need much now. Just a quiet place to rest."

"Well," said the tree, "an old stump is still good for that.

Come boy," he said, "sit down and rest for a while."

And so he did.

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.